Reality Check

"For two years on the campaign trail, this was what I heard from women, that they were being crushed, crushed by the current structure of our health care. Crushed."

- Michelle Obama [speech]

Source: US Dept. of Health and Human Services.


Hoven's Index for September 20, 2009:

Of 100,000 white females born alive, those still alive at age 90: 28,082.

Of 100,000 black females born alive, those still alive at age 90: 21,627.

Of 100,000 white males born alive, those still alive at age 90: 16,145.

Of 100,000 black males born alive, those still alive at age 90: 10,432.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Government run health care proponents targeting 'enemies'

The plan for a series of grass-roots demonstrations Tuesday to promote President Obama's health care agenda calls for tightly scripted events and an "escalation" of efforts against "enemies" of reform.

Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which is backed by a coalition of labor unions and liberal groups including ACORN and MoveOn.org, organized the protests to target insurance companies and drafted the plan, which describes the demonstrations as part of its "insurance enemies project."

The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, details specific talking points, tactics, props and strategies to stage the protests. It lists goals that include action that "mobilizes our base by animating existing anger about private insurers."

The HCAN field plan dictates that each protest will include a minimum of 30 participants, target only health care insurers CIGNA, WellPoint and United Health Care and showcase what it calls "victims" of those companies.

"We built a campaign to win health care reform and that is exactly what we are working on," said HCAN national spokeswoman Jacki Schechner, who authenticated the documents. But she asserted: "There is nothing top-down about this." [snip]

David Palombi, senior vice president of corporate communications for WellPoint, said the "enemies project" is counterproductive to the debate and will do nothing to expand access, reduce costs or improve the quality of health care in the United States.

"It is extraordinarily disappointing that it comes at a time when [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] and others are calling for a civil discussion."

Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, became emotional at a news conference Thursday when she expressed fear that the harsh rhetoric of the debate would lead to violence.

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image toon = 1st hcare = sea of hcare opponents = just a few crazies

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"Man Admits Possible Al Qaeda Link, Officials Say"

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"Possible link"? The man has admitted it.

Oops, this is the Times.

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Surrendering to Iran

The most recent stop on America’s surrender tour came yesterday, when President Obama scrapped plans for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. The original plan, established by President Bush in 2007, was designed to protect America’s European allies against the threat of an Iranian missile attack. In defending the latest policy of appeasement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Iran’s long-range missile threat is “not as immediate” as the United States once thought.

Yet, in April, two months after Iran launched a satellite into space, it successfully launched its Sejil-2 missile, which has a range of about 1,200 miles—meaning the outskirts of Europe is now well within reach of the world’s number-one state sponsor of terror. It’s difficult to imagine a threat being any more immediate than that.

Additionally, in a report filed the same day President Obama and Secretary Gates minimized the Iranian threat, the Associated Press claims to have seen a document produced, and for months buried by, the International Atomic Energy Agency which says Iran now has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and is working to build the delivery system needed for the weapon.

It’s impossible to overstate the significance of these dramatic developments in the United States. Forces of appeasement in Washington are now so strong that even the United Nations seems almost hawkish by comparison.

It represents another monumental defeat in the war against terrorism’s primary state sponsor—the regime that has been targeting and killing Americans for going on 30 years.

[Recommended > ]

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The Terror Threat Increases

Be it Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Colorado or New York City, the past week has demonstrated that al-Qaida and radical Islamic extremism are alive and ever present and still pose a significant threat to our homeland, U.S. targets abroad and our international allies.

According to published reports, U.S. Special Operations personnel killed a terror suspect in Somalia that U.S. intelligence sources said was a link between and Islamic militia in Somalia, al-Qaida in Pakistan and a group of young Somali-Americans from Minneapolis. The Minneapolis boys told authorities that they recognized the suspect as one of their instructors at an al-Qaida training camp in Somalia.

Federal authorities are reporting increased chatter, and we’re witnessing international training and links between training camps abroad and cities all across this country.

At a time when political divisiveness over healthcare is dominating the airwaves, let’s not lose sight of what appears to be an increased terror threat against us.

The future of this country greatly depends on it.

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image toon - 1st nsec gwot - Nukes fall but we've free health care

Well-Funded Authoritative Islam a Growing Threat

Frank Gaffney Jr. spoke recently on the growing threat of authoritative Islam at a conference sponsored by the Endowment for Middle East Truth.

Gaffney said one major danger is its increasing influence fueled by money and power. He drew a hypothetical comparison about how the Cold War might have ended had KGB agents infiltrated the West into power positions involving the flow of capital and credit, especially pertaining to defense.

He said that is exactly what is happening today in "the war of the free world" through "Shariah-compliant finance"...

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Christian hotel owners hauled before court after defending their beliefs in discussion with Muslim guest

[United Kingdom]

A Christian couple have been charged with a criminal offence after taking part in what they regarded as a reasonable discussion about religion with guests at their hotel.

Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang were arrested after a Muslim woman complained to police that she had been offended by their comments.

They have been charged under public order laws with using ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words’ that were ‘religiously aggravated’.

The couple, whose trial has been set for December, face a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record if they are convicted...

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Muslim Prayer Rooms, But No Display of the Ten Commandments

[In America]

An article in the Albany Times Union promotes a controversy brewing in local schools in upstate New York. A controversy in that schools are willing to close their doors during Christian and Jewish religious holidays - but not Muslim holidays.

"One request we have seen is for a room during Ramadan for students to pray in, and many districts are attempting to provide those."

What the reporter fails to note is that Worona, who apparently is in favor of separate prayer rooms for Muslim students, opposes the inclusion of a display containing the Ten Commandments in New York schools.

Interesting. A prayer room for Muslim students. What happened to the separation of religion and education, church and state?

Or does that only apply to the assault on Christianity in our schools, the elimination of nativity scenes, the conversion of labels such as 'Christmas Break' to 'Winter Break', or the deletion of the phrase 'under God' from our Pledge of Allegiance?

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Poles, Czechs Voice U.S. Betrayal On Missiles

WARSAW, Poland -- Poles and Czechs voiced deep concern Friday at President Barack Obama's decision to scrap a Bush-era missile defense shield planned for their countries.

"Betrayal! The U.S. sold us to Russia and stabbed us in the back,"

the Polish Fakt declared on its front page.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said he was concerned that Obama's new strategy leaves Poland in a dangerous "gray zone" between Western Europe and the old Soviet sphere.

Recent events in the region have rattled nerves throughout central and eastern Europe, a region controlled by Moscow during the Cold War, including the war last summer between Russia and Georgia and ongoing efforts by Russia to regain influence in Ukraine. A Russian cutoff of gas to Ukraine last winter left many Europeans without heat.

The Bush administration's plan would have been "a major step in preventing various disturbing trends in our region of the world," Kaczynski said in a guest editorial in the daily Fakt and also carried on his presidential Web site.

In Prague, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said

"an ally we rely on has betrayed us, and exchanged us for its own, better relations with Russia, of which we are rightly afraid."

"No Radar. Russia won," the largest Czech daily, Mlada Fronta Dnes, declared in a front-page headline.

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image toon - nsec intl missile - Oby unlocks russian bear and iran cub

Obama's new protectionism

Mr. Obama announced last Friday night that he would impose a 35% tariff on low cost tires imported from China. The President has once again achieved a trifecta of policy outcomes favoring his agenda: a victory for the United Steelworkers union, a boost for ObamaCare and another blow in his war on prosperity to boot.

In this protectionist climate, the United States ought to be showing leadership in tempering pressures for trade barriers and ensuring that a critical engine of U.S. and world economic growth is allowed to function unimpeded. Instead, President Obama has made a political calculation that firing off an onerous tariff against the country that buys a major portion of our rapidly mounting debt will help him to achieve his top domestic priority of nationalizing the health care system.

While Obama may be aware of the unintended consequences of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, he is either unaware of the unintended consequences that may accrue from his recent tariff action, or more likely, he is not nearly so concerned about possibly igniting a trade war as he is about achieving his political agenda...

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image toon = trade = Oby backs up = flats tires

Obama open to newspaper bailout bill

The president said he is "happy to look at" bills before Congress that would give struggling news organizations tax breaks if they were to restructure as nonprofit businesses

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has introduced S. 673, the so-called "Newspaper Revitalization Act," that would give outlets tax deals if they were to restructure as 501(c)(3) corporations

Obama said that good journalism is "critical to the health of our democracy," but expressed concern toward growing tends in reporting -- especially on political blogs, from which a groundswell of support for his campaign emerged during the presidential election.

"I am concerned that if the direction of the news is all blogosphere, all opinions, with no serious fact-checking, no serious attempts to put stories in context, that what you will end up getting is people shouting at each other across the void but not a lot of mutual understanding,"

[This is a transparent attempt to gain control over the media, and a very, very bad idea.

If these entities aren't for profit, how will their formats be set? When the government is paying the bills?

Reminder; ACORN is a 'non profit' organization.]

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[Then...


"OPPOSE S. 673, "Newspaper Revitalization Act"


Senate-Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
YOUR Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

or: Speed Message them with your personal distribution list...

and as always, pass it on...

contact-template

Sweden slashes income tax FURTHER to boost jobs

We noted here that the United States has the most progressive income tax system in the developed world. That's right--embarrassingly enough, more progressive than Sweden's.

Actually, a generation of economic stagnation has taught the Swedes a lesson. They've learned that government does not produce wealth, and if they want more people to work, jobs have to pay better, after taxes. Sweden is therefore in the midst of a series of tax cuts aimed at preserving the long-term viability of its economy. Today's headline: "Sweden slashes income tax further to boost jobs."

It's an interesting comparison: Sweden experimented with the nanny state, learned that it was devastating to the economic and moral health of its people, and is moving back toward individualism. Here in the U.S., we had the world's most dynamic economy, and the lesson we took away from that--some of us, anyway--was that we were doing something wrong and needed to socialize everything.

Curious.

[Dangerous - and getting worse by the day.]

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Unemployment in California at 12%, Highest in Nearly 70 Years

[HT:Ldot: The joys of socialism writ large in the Golden State]

LOS ANGELES — California’s unemployment rate in August hit its highest point in nearly 70 years, starkly underscoring how the nation’s incipient economic recovery continues to elude millions of Americans looking for work.

While job losses continue to fall, the state’s new unemployment rate — 12.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — is far above the national average of 9.7 percent...

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First They Came for the Marlboros

Last Monday dawned clear and bright in the nanny state of New York City. The newspaper brought word that the city's new health commissioner was working on ways to get residents to exercise more.

That same morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his latest assault on unhealthy behavior. By 2012, the mayor hopes "to lower the proportion of adults who drink one or more sugar-sweetened beverages each day by 20 percent."

Tuesday's news was about plans to forbid smoking outside at public parks and beaches.

The scariest part?

If the past pattern holds, initial gasps of outrage at such bureaucratic interference will sputter into acceptance, only emboldening yet greater intrusions by our Nanny government...

[Or, put another way {you knew it was coming}: 'They won't stop until stopped.'

Doing your part?]

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image toon - vals sclm bbro = Warning labels on everything

Time Mag Flashback 1995: 'Is Rush Limbaugh Good for America?'

As reported Thursday, Time magazine this week published a rather lengthy article entitled, "Mad Man: Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?"

It turns out this piece is in the upcoming September 28 issue with Beck himself on the cover next to the headline, "Mad Man: Glenn Beck and the angry style of American politics" (pictured right).

Apparently, this is somewhat of a retread for Time, for back in 1995, the magazine asked more positively on its January 23 cover, "Is Rush Limbaugh Good for America?"

The sub-headline read,

"Talk radio is only the beginning. Electronic populism threatens to short-circuit representative democracy." [?]

The interior article offered some rather ominous insights concerning the direction of this medium and how the Left might combat it...

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Arianna's 'duh' moment

The cluelessness of the left on display this morning, in the juxtaposition of two articles this morning. The first article comes from Arianna Huffington, puzzled at the decline in female happiness:

According to study after study, women are becoming more and more unhappy. This drop in happiness is found in women across the social and economic landscape. It doesn't matter what their marital status is, how much money they make, whether or not they have children, their ethnic background, or the country they live in. Women around the world are in a funk.

And it's not because of the multitude of crises we are facing. Women's happiness has been on a downward trend since the early 1970s, when the General Social Survey, a landmark study, began examining the social attitudes of women and men...

When you think about all that has happened over the last four decades -- with women securing greater opportunity, greater achievement, greater influence, and more money -- the decline in our collective state of mind seems to defy logic, and raises the vexing question: What in the world is going on?

Ms. Huffington should consult Mr. Gerson in the Washington Post:

There is a segment of society for whom traditional family values are increasingly irrelevant, and for whom spring-break sexual liberationism is increasingly costly: men and women in their 20s. [snip]

But delaying marriage creates moral, emotional and practical complications. The challenge, as always, is to humanize change.

The answer, even in the relational wasteland, is responsibility, commitment and sacrifice for the sake of children...

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G, B, F...

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Palin Dinner Brings in $63,500 for Charity

A chance to have dinner with former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has swelled the coffers of an organization that aids wounded veterans.

The top bid for dinner with Palin, the former Alaska governor, was $63,500. The auction ended Friday afternoon.

Palin offered the dinner as part of a charity auction on eBay for the Ride 2 Recovery program, which supports wounded veterans through cycling programs. All told, more than $95,000 was raised.

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Obama 'appointed by God'

Obama was “appointed by God”, we are instructed by a man boasting academic credentials.

Writing in the Orlando Sentinel, a major US newspaper, Jeremy Levitt “associate dean for International Programs and a distinguished professor of international law at Florida A&M University College of Law in Orlando,” makes this case at the conclusion of a rambling attack on critics of ObamaCare and the right in general:

"I would remind the far right what the Apostle Paul wrote, " ... there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." Hence, Obama is the U.S. president and leader of the Free World because he was appointed by God."

I wonder how much criticism this statement will encounter on the left, from the militant atheists and church-haters?

Can we imagine if anyone associated with the right even approached such an association? A whole new meaning to 'crucifixion' ...

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Well-dressed elderly man with oxygen tank robs California bank

La Jolla,Calif. - Authorities say a well-dressed elderly man carrying an oxygen tank has robbed a bank in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla. San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick says the suspect on Saturday presented a note demanding money to a teller at the San Diego National Bank.

The robber is described as a tall man in his 70s with white hair, a greymoustache and glasses...

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